Thursday, November 10, 2011

Artist Spotlight: Worry Party

I don't bother with many bands from the current emo scene. To me, at least, too many of them take the whole melodramatic aspect of the genre too far, while the less that's said about most of it's mainstream representation the better. Worry Party, however, offer a welcome and refreshing change. It's not that they're dragging the genre into exciting new pastures, rather that they're resurrecting it's indie-based origins, and providing their own fresh interpretation of it. It's clear that that sound is still going through the stages of development, but it's potential is clear and it shouldn't come as much of a surprise if the band makes waves once firmly established a few years down the line.
The focal point of everything they're trying to achieve is guitarist Steven Chell, who's noodling riffs have characterised every one of the band's recordings so far, and provided the key contribution to a sound that's surprisingly full given that they're only a three-piece. This driving force gives their songs a post-hardcore edge not dissimilar to Pulled Apart By Horses among others, but it's the emo element brought about by Chell's vocals which sets them apart from such contemporaries. It'd be a lie to call him the most accomplished singer, but on songs like 'Worriers' and 'Liver' he shows himself more than capable of channeling the type of emotion that is fundamental to the band - and genre's - success.

Thus far, Worry Party have amassed a pair of EP's; Tourism and To Our Ill Health, and are planning to follow them with more new material early next year. They're still very much in the process of building a sound which they feel confident enough to commit to an LP, but given the progress they've already made you get the impression that such a breakthrough isn't a million miles away. With those aforementioned strengths, as well as unconventional song structures and dynamic shifts, the trio have a solid base with which to work from, and could well be capable of making their mark with subsequent releases.

You can listen to and download Worry Party's music on their Bandcamp and Facebook pages.